


Stick Around

by reinerscondom



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Original Character(s), POV Female Character, Telekinesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26739766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinerscondom/pseuds/reinerscondom
Summary: y/n wakes up in a field she's never been in before, and before she can do anything, she gets attacked by a titan; thankfully, the Commander's squad swoops in to help just in time. She gets taken to the town inside the walls, and that's where her confusing experience starts.All she's focused on is how to get out of there, but she has no clue how she'll do that. It seems she'll have to make a life there, for now.
Relationships: Reiner Braun/Original Character(s), Reiner Braun/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. The Field

> * * *

* * *

_Shit. That hurts. My head hurts. So does my entire left side. What is this place? It smells weird out here; like something rotten. Rotten… eggs; that’s it, that’s that smell- no, stench, more so. I need to get up, but everything hurts. I’ll just lie down for a few more minutes._

She looked around and tried to take in her surroundings, though it was hard to open her eyes.

_Am I in a… field? God, what is that noise? It’s getting closer… and louder. I guess I’ll have to do it. I know someone might see me, and I shouldn’t be so reckless, but at this point; I couldn’t care less: my head hurts; and that stupid stomping noise isn’t making it any fucking better._

_Sigh._

She slammed her fist down onto the ground, creating a ripple of chunks of earth building up onto each other, which, in turn, knocked out whatever’s making the noise she was hearing before.

_Finally, some peace and quiet. It did fall down with a really loud thump, though. I wonder what it was?_

She decided that, maybe, she should get up and check things out. Excruciatingly, she rose to her feet and tried her best to open her eyes enough so that she could see what exactly she had knocked down.

_What in the fuck’s name is **that?!**_

Its humongous motionless body, she’d say almost seven meters tall, seemed to be defeated, but she could still see it breathing. Its head was thrown back, her guess was because that’s where the earth hit it. It looked… like a human. But ugly. Oh yeah, absolutely hideous. She didn’t dare to near it any further, but couldn’t stop staring. Why did it smell so awful?! She covered her nose with her shirt, but really, it didn’t help out that much.

_Whatever, I’ll just try to find some shelter. Let’s see… I’m pretty much stranded in the middle of nowhere, with this humanoid giant, that smells like rotten eggs, as my only company. My luck’s great today, huh?_

She stretched her back and started limping towards some building in the distance; it looks like… a wall. Or something. Some kind of border? Her best guess would be that it’s for those giants, assuming that that one wasn’t the only one. Anyway, shelter must be that way, so she’ll go there. It’s not like she has anywhere else to go.

_Wait._

The pain in her head has started to subdue, so she can form proper thoughts again. She could finally think.

_What day is it even? How long was I knocked out? What is this stupidly empty place? And where did I come from? How… how did I even get here?!_

In the midst of a pleasant panic-inducing train of thought, she didn’t notice the giant slowly rising up and starting to make its way towards her. She only noticed it the moment she heard the stomping again. While turning her head, her eyes widened at how fast it was going and how quickly the distance between her and the creature was lessening.

_Oh, damn. I better start running._

Since her energy was on the lower side, she couldn’t use her powers that well just yet; but she could always give herself a little boost. So, that’s exactly what she did. She boosted her running up a bit, which significantly sped her up. She took a glance behind and gasped at how fast that thing actually was. This worried her a lot; her power was at its limit and, well, that’s not really good. The giant kept charging at her, but she noticed she was getting a lot closer to the border she had been heading to earlier. Thank god. She didn’t know if she could hold out the running much longer, but she’d have to push herself; it’d be worth it, she promised to herself.

As she was nearing the border, her powers gave out and, as a result, her knees started to weaken a great deal; and her shins felt like they were on fire. But she had to keep going, she had to push herself; she couldn’t give up just yet and die out here! She wouldn’t allow it.

Her body thought otherwise, though: as her running turned into jogging, and then staggering, she could hear the giant getting closer and closer. The thought of being crushed filled her mind; the only thought she could form.

She couldn’t run anymore; she just couldn’t. Her body had given up already: she fell to her knees. She was shaking violently as she braced herself to get squashed like some dumb fruit fly. She didn’t dare look, though, she kept myself focused on her hands as she gripped onto the grass like it was going to save her.

Suddenly, the stomping came to a stop. She peered over her shoulder, behind her, to see the giant reach for her with the largest grin she'd ever seen on its face.

_Is it… is it planning to eat me?_

Tears started brimming at her eyes as she unwillingly imagined herself getting chewed up, swallowed, and shit out by this hideous creature. It was like watching her own death, as it was happening. She could already feel the pain as she was being picked up by its dirty, muddy hands. As it started lifting her up, it simultaneously tightened its grip on her, pushing out all the air that she had in her lungs.

She screamed. She screamed so loudly she made the trees in the field she woke up on earlier and their leaves wave around like a tornado just hit them. For just a second, the giant looked… scared? It loosened its grip on her a little, and she took that opportunity to free one arm from its grip, but it still continued lifting her to its mouth, seemingly really looking forward to eat her.

_No! No, it can’t end like this! This cannot be it! Please!_

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of anything else; anything that wasn’t fear: she refused to live her last moments fear. She tried to remember what her life was like but for some reason, her mind went blank.

_I… I can’t remember anything. How could this be possible? It doesn’t make any sense._

That’s when she felt it: the sudden relief, like she was freed from all agony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi! I started this story for fun, but I promise, I'm planning to finish it! I hope you enjoy reading this little story as much as I did writing it!
> 
> Now, for some basic info:  
> \- I have no idea what I'm doing, so bare with me  
> \- This story doesn't exacly follow the canon storyline (a little AU?)  
> \- If you notice any big mistakes, though, don't hesitate to let me know!  
> \- I might change the title later!


	2. The Commander

* * *

* * *

_Am I… Am I dead? I’m too scared to open my eyes; what if I’m in hell? Who am I kidding, I don’t even believe in that stuff. But, I mean, it could be possible, right? Heaven and hell, I mean. Was I a good person? I can’t even remember that. Shit. Does that mean I’m in purgatory?_

“Open your eyes.”

_Who the hell was that?_

She listens to the voice and does so, the situation revealing itself.

“What were you doing out here?”

She does her best to sit up a bit and look around, confused as ever, as a group of people with swords and weird metal box-like equipment stare at her; in turn, also confused.

“Hey,” the man kneeling in front of her snaps his fingers to catch her focus “what’s your name?”

_My name… Oh, I know that one. I still don’t know whether I’m alive or dead, but at least I know my name. It’s all I have right now._

“y/n.” She mutters and decides to finally look at the man’s face: blond hair, thick eyebrows, furrowed, as if he’s worried. “Am I dead?” She asks him, knowing she probably sounded like a complete dumbass. The man obviously finds this question amusing, as he smiles, only slightly, and reassuringly states: “Don’t worry, you’re not dead; and I’m Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps; these are my Scouts.” He reaches his hand out, as if to help her up but she stays on the ground, dazed.

_Survey… corps? What even is that? What is this place? Most importantly, do I dare ask him that? Or do I just go with it? If I starting asking too many questions, they’ll get suspicious because I don’t know anything; but if I play along, I might get away with it, find shelter and finally take some time to heal and think about how I can get away from here. Then again…_

“I think she’s a little shaken up from the titan attack, sir.” She hears one of the so-called scouts say.

_So… Titans? That’s what those things are called?_

“C’mon, you might want to get up; unless you want to get attacked again, that is.” She sees the Commander stand up and once again reach his hand out to her. This time she takes it and stands up as well. She straightens out her clothes a bit, noticing how filthy they actually look. It’s a bit embarrassing. She looks up at him and takes in how much shorter than him she is, wishing she’d grown just a little more.

“We’ll take you back to safety; assuming you came from within these walls.” He motions to the border, or ‘walls’, she was running to earlier. She nods, not knowing what else to tell him because she doesn’t remember where exactly she actually came from. She doesn’t like the way he said ‘assuming you came from within these walls’; something seems up. For a second, the Commander seems to hesitate about god-knows-what. She doesn’t pay it much mind, but it still was a little weird.

“Alright then, can you walk?” She once again nods and starts limping towards the wall. It hurt like hell, but she didn’t want their help any longer: they already saved her and she didn’t want to owe them anything more. She hears mutters from the group but just can’t be bothered to look back and make a problem out of it. “You obviously cannot walk.” A horse with the Commander on it barely trots next to her. He seems to empathize: “I know you probably think you’d owe us if you accept any more of our help, but let me at least get you back safely. You can sit behind me, if you’d like.” He offers kindly.

_Why was he able to read me like that? That’s just weird. But since he insists, I’ll accept his offer. It’s better than walking all the way there, anyway._

She stops walking and turns to the horse and Commander; he understands and holds out his hand and helps her mount the horse so she can sit behind him. “You’ll have to hold onto me.” He… suggests? She couldn’t make out his tone, but does as he says and holds onto him with her right arm; she can’t really move her left arm, but it’s not like it hurts. Once she's seated snugly against his back, the horse starts trotting again. The ‘ride’ back is silent, possibly awkward, but it allows her to think some more.

It took about 10 minutes to reach the wall, where the gate was opened to let them in. The walls were so much taller than she thought; did the titans really pose this much of a threat? She wonders if they were that much stronger than they looked; if that’s the case, then this place really is doomed. And she needs to get out of here as soon as she can, at least after recovering. While entering, the group seems to be welcomed by people, most likely civilians, who just kept staring at them; but her, as well. Probably because she was sharing horseback with their Commander and, on top of that, looked like she just rolled around in a puddle of mud and wasn’t wearing one of their little outfits. Coming to think of it, her clothes were completely different than theirs; the civilians, that is. Everyone wore old-fashioned-looking clothing, very simple and pretty much colorless except for some brown, white, beige and black.

_I should probably get myself some of those clothes if I want to fit in._

After they pass the civilians, the Commander splits ways with his team and he and Y/n head out to some other place. “I’ll take you to a doctor; he’ll help with your injuries.”

_Shit. I don’t have the money. More so, the right currency. I have to find a way to avoid that._

She didn’t notice how much of a silence there was coming from her, until she hears: “You’re not that much of a talker, are you?” He glances back at her, “That’s okay, I understand you’re still shaken up from the attack.” She hangs her head low, still not knowing what to say. Her face feels warm;

_I really hope my face isn't red; that would be really embarrassing._

This town looks really primitive compared to what I’m used to. I don’t see any tall towers, and every house or shop is mostly made of wood. Fucking hell, I’m so confused. What did I get myself into? Why am I even here? And how in the hell do I leave? Especially since, apparently, us normal people aren’t allowed to venture outside of these walls. I guess it’s a problem for later, what I need to focus on right now is my left arm; it’s been bruised by that pesky titan, and the pain is only now starting to really kick in. Long live adrenaline, I guess.

“We’re here.” Commander announces, and the horse comes to a stop. She thanks him quietly and carefully hops off. She reads the little label on the door of the house they’re in front of.

_This must be an at-home doctor’s office._

She gives the door a few gentle knocks and waits for an answer. She notices the Commander’s still behind her and turns around to bid him goodbye. He waves politely and smiles as he leaves for whatever he needs to get to.

The door behind her opens, startling her a bit because she was watching the Commander leave. She turns back around and sees a stern-looking man staring at her. He’s at least in his 40’s. He’s got some wrinkles around his eyes, but only slight ones. “You here to get treated?”

_Shit, how could I have forgotten I don’t have the money?_

She stands there like an idiot, mouth agape like some fish. “Well?” He urges impatiently. She decides that money’s a problem for later, and nods at him, carefully bringing forward her bruised arm. He takes a look and widens his eyes at how bad of a shape her arm was in. “What the hell happened to you?” She tries to think of an excuse, but she's not really that good at lying, so she decides she’ll tell him a half-truth; that, she's good at. “I don’t really remember, I hit my head.” For a second, he seemed to see through her ‘lie’ but he decided not to ask any questions. Not like it’s any of his business, anyway. Reluctantly, he moves away from the door and motions for her to come in. “Sit on that chair, there. I’ll get my supplies and have a closer look at that arm of yours.” He disappears into another room and Y/n takes a seat. While looking around, she notices that this place really hasn’t made that many technological advancements.

The doctor comes back with bandages and other doctor stuff that she didn’t really care for to see what it was. He grabs another chair and sits on her left; she’d already taken her jacket off, and boy, did her arm look fucked up. He examines her, lifting her arm and such so he could have a better look at what’s wrong. “Well, your arm’s just bruised, except it’s bruised really badly. And pretty much all over. Good thing is, you won’t lose your arm. I’ll bandage it, because bruises make your skin sensitive, which also makes it more prone to sun damage. But you’ll be fine.” He explains as he wraps bandages all over her arm and uses safety pins to secure them into place, making sure they’re not too loose. She mutters a ‘thank you’ and feels really bad for what she's planning on doing later; he seems like a kind man but it’s not like she has a choice, so, it has to happen. “I’ll be right back.” He leaves to another room, and this is when she takes her chance. She gets up and swiftly, but quietly, opens the front door and make a run for it. Her body’s still in pain but she runs as fast as she can into some alley and dart through the streets. She's being stared at by people, mostly getting disapproving looks.

_What, is a girl not allowed to have a pleasant jog through town?_

She finally finds a dark corner behind a building and stops running. She feels a cool breeze and shivers, though it feels colder than it actually is because she broke a mean sweat.

_Shit. I forgot my jacket. Goddamn, the guy’s gonna have evidence I was there! Fuck, what do I do? I hope he didn’t remember my face too well. What if he tells the cops? Not like I saw any around, but still. I need to figure out what this place is before I get into trouble, otherwise I’m a complete lost cause._

As if on cue, she hears someone yell: “There she is! With the bandaged arm!”

_For fuck’s sake, can I breathe?!_

She, once again, makes a run for it but the two who caught her are taller, and faster than her. One of them tackle her, making her hit her head on the cobblestone ground. She doesn’t pass out, but it throws her off and disables any possible resistance. “Let’s get this sorted out, shall we?” There's an obvious smile in his voice as Y/n's face is pushed onto the ground while the other cop handcuffs her.

_All this for a petty crime? I think it’s a bit of an overreaction._

She gets dragged away, through the streets, and gets the same disapproving looks of local citizens passing by. She hangs her head low, not daring to look at them until they reach some underground cell. She gets pushed in roughly, falling, but manages to land on all fours. Bastards. She hears the lock on the bars click, and the two cops leave, but not before making remark: “We’re leaving, but don’t worry, we’ll deal with you later.” Their stupid laughs echo through the cell hall.

_How am I getting out of this situation? I have no clue._

* * *

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooo erwin time babey


	3. Interrogation Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooo she gettin interrogated

* * *

* * *

_When are those pigs returning? It’s been three hours, and I feel like I’m gonna piss my fucking pants._

Y/n’s sat on the cold ground, waiting for someone to show up. Not like she expects someone to bail her out, but she wants to at least get some information on what’ll happen to her.

Suddenly, she hears voices from down the hall and her ears perk up.

“…we’ve never seen her around before.” She hears a woman’s voice say.

“You should interrogate her, but I’ll check out as well.” The other person’s, that of a man, sounds familiar.

The man, along with the woman, walks up to her cell. Y/n finally recognizes the man: Commander Erwin. He also seems to recognize her when he lays his eyes upon her huddled form. “Oh.” is all he says. He thinks for a few seconds, then moves away from the cell and motions for the woman, whom Y/n also recognized as one of the cops, to come along. They start talking again.

“She was in the field we ventured earlier; we saved her from a titan attack.”

“Oh? And you’ve never seen her before either?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then we should question her, no?”

“Yes; I’d like to be present during the interrogation.”

“That’s fine by me; should we start now?”

“I have nothing on my schedule right now, but I have a meeting in an hour, so we’ll have to make it quick.”

“Alright, I’ll go get her.” The woman makes her way towards the cell while taking the handcuffs she had on her belt off to restrain Y/n once again. “Stand up.” She orders. Y/n huffs and gets up, shivering a bit. The officer unlocks the door to the cell and handcuffs Y/n. She motions for her to follow. They walk down the hall, Y/n following behind and head hanging low, lost in her thoughts.

_I sure hope they don’t make me do jail time for such a petty crime. Maybe I’ll get community service?_

They enter a room with a table, two chairs, and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. The officer tells Y/n to sit on one of the chairs, and she does.

“The commander will be with us in a minute.”

Y/n hangs her head low and awaits the commander’s arrival. She feels ashamed, but keeps reminding herself that she had no choice for her actions. She keeps fumbling with her bandages, wincing when she touches a bruise too harshly.

The door to the interrogation room opens, which makes her look up, seeing the commander come in with an additional chair and close the door behind him. He looks at her for a mere second before taking a seat on the wooden chair. The officer follows suit and sighs before starting to ask questions. Y/n hangs her head low again.

“Name?”

“Y/n.”

“What about your surname?”

Y/n takes a moment before answering.

“Don’t remember.” This was true; she didn’t remember anything but her first name.

“I don’t believe that for a second. Tell me your last name.” The officer started to sound agitated.

“I don’t… remember.” Y/n was annoyed, she just wanted some peace and quiet, to go home; wherever that was.

“Fine. You don’t wanna tell me? That’s your problem. Now, commander Erwin told me you were outside the walls. What were you doing?”

Y/n wonders if she should tell her the truth, or if she should make up a story as she goes. The problem is she’s not good at that, especially since she’s not in a stable state of mind. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be, not for a while. She decides to tell the truth.

“You’re gonna hate me for this one,” she sighs “but I don’t remember that either. I don’t remember how I got here, who I am, I don’t remember anything from before I woke up in that field.” She admits, talking quietly in fear of saying something wrong that’ll get her yelled that.

“What do you **mean** you don’t remember!? **Nothing** at all?!” The officer raises her voice at her, visibly angry. “Listen, **runt** , I know you’re fucking lying, and terribly, at that. You’re trying to get yourself out of this situation that’s **your** fault, but that’s not gonna work! Here, we respect doctors and anybody in the medical field, and what you did was **completely unacceptable**!” The officer’s face is now red, she seems really furious.

Y/n looks up with tears in her eyes, but able to keep her composure. “I’m telling you the truth; I can’t remember any of it.” She blankly states before looking back at her lap, once again fumbling with the bandages that reach her wrist.

The officer shoots up out of her chair, ready to berate her again, but the commander interrupts her. “We’ll take a break.” He says and pulls the officer out of the room.

Y/n lets out a shaky sigh of relief and wipes her eyes with her right hand.

_I just want some peace and quiet._

A few minutes pass, and the stern-looking commander returns; but this time the officer isn’t with him. He takes a seat, this time in the chair the officer was previously sitting in, and sighs.

“I apologize for the officer’s behavior, it was unprofessional.” He pauses, “but you need to answer us.”

_I can’t take this anymore._

“I. Don’t. Remember.” Y/n’s leg starts to bounce out of impatience.

There’s an awkward chunk of silence before he speaks. “Alright. I have a solution.” Y/n looks up at him after he says that, waiting for him to continue. “We can let you off with a warning, if you pay the doctor’s expenses right now.”

“And… what happens if I don’t?” She questions hesitantly.

“Then…” He hasn’t thought of that, but comes up with a solution quickly. “you’ll have to join the Military. More specifically, the Scout Regiment. We could use more scouts.” He didn’t tell her, but he wants to keep an eye on her, as he’s suspicious of her. ‘How could someone not remember anything of their life? Not even their last name?’ He ponders, as he awaits her answer.

Meanwhile, Y/n’s thoughts are drowning in despair.

_No, no, no, no! I don’t want to stay here a second longer! I just wanna figure out how to get out of here._

She starts trembling slightly at the thought of staying someplace she didn’t know until she dies; it frightened her.

Erwin notices this and slowly puts his hand forward on the table. He was a serious man, but he wasn’t cold. “I assume your only option is to join the Scouts?” She nods, not wanting to speak.

“I understand.” For a second, he doesn’t know what to say; he pities her.

_Okay, stay calm Y/n. Let’s go over how my life would look like if I join: I’d probably get shelter, right? That’s good; I’ll have time to think, and maybe try to remember anything from before. And get some proper sleep. Yeah, I could really use that._

She sniffles, finally having the courage to speak: “I’ll- I’ll join.” Erwin raises his eyebrows at this; he didn’t expect her to give in so quickly, but accepts. “Good, good. Well, you’ll start tomorrow. I’ll bring you to the barracks to get you settled in, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Alright, let me get you out of those handcuffs.” He gets up, taking out the key he took from the officer out of his pocket. Y/n raises her hands, feeling the handcuffs loosen around her wrists, and drops her hands back down in her lap. She finally looks up, seeing the commander at the door, which he’s already opened, waiting for her to follow. She gets up from her chair and follows the commander out of the room, in turn out of the building into the streets, but not before noticing the same officer from before shooting her a dirty look. She stares back right back at her; the officer huffs and resumes the conversation she was having with the man, a fellow officer, in front of her.

As they leave the building and finally enter daylight, Y/n winces at how bright the sun is; it’s midday. They commence their walk. “It’ll take us about twenty minutes to get there.” He informs her. She looks up to her left, where he’s walking, and mutters an ‘okay’.

_Let’s see where this takes me. ‘Cuz I need to fucking pee._

* * *

* * *


	4. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> y/n finally gets to pee

* * *

* * *

Trying to make the walk less awkward, Erwin decides to make small talk; maybe get to know Y/n, and understand her situation. “Since you don’t… remember anything, want me to explain what our situation is?” He asks her, in hopes of getting her to talk a bit more. Y/n nods, grateful he wasn’t as cold of a person as she thought he would be; he was a military leader, after all, and Y/n generally just didn’t trust authority figures.

Upon seeing Y/n’s agreement, he begins his explanation from when the colossal titan attacked the Sihganshina district, to everything that happened recently. It was a lot to take in for Y/n; she feels overwhelmed, and the existence of a more powerful titan than the one that attacked her frightens her. Erwin then continues by explaining all the military branches and their functions. He finally gets to the Scout Regiment’s function: “As for you, you will be joining the scouts; we explore outside the walls; our main goal is to reclaim human territory from the titans. Which means we kill titans, every now and then.” He says the last part with a light chuckle.

Y/n pulls a grim face after hearing she’ll have to kill. She didn’t like the idea of killing anybody, whether human or not. He notices this and stops walking to pat her shoulder, putting her walking to a halt as well. “It may seem scary, but you’ll get used to it. It’s for humanity, after all.” He sighs, sounding somewhat defeated, and continues walking. Y/n tilts her head, staying still.

_So, we can’t just **leave** this place, can we…_

Her chest feels empty, but she follows him, jogging a little to catch up to the quick-paced walker. After a few more minutes, they arrive at the barracks. He tells her to wait at the entrance while he goes and makes some arrangements for her. Unbeknown to Y/n, Erwin arranges for her to stay in the room closest to the squad captain; since he won’t be there all the time, and thus won’t be able to keep a close eye on her, he’ll have the captain do that for him; if he agrees, that is: he’s a bit of a grump.

Y/n waits outside, standing awkwardly as she watches the other scouts walk around, doing whatever they’re doing.

_Guess I’m part of you guys now. I hope I can get along with at least one person here._

“Y/n; come on inside. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” She follows the commander to the end of the corridor, passing numerous doors that had names on them.

_Eren and Armin… Jean and Connie… Sasha and Mikasa… interesting names._

They finally reach her door; Y/n notices it’s across another door marked ‘Squad Captain’, but decides not to say anything about it.

_Trying to spy on me, huh… Can’t say I blame you, though, none of you know me._

Erwin opens the door of your room to let you in. “Alright, so, here’s your room; it’s only you here, but try to make the best of it. I want my soldiers and cadets healthy and happy, even if it is a little too much to ask during these… dire times.” He clears his throat, “uh, the name tag will hang on your door soon enough, and,” he looks at the clock that’s hanging above the bed, which reads 5:41PM “you have free time until 6 in the morning, so use it wisely; rest up, or… something. I have to leave now, but if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to knock on the other cadets’ doors.” He smiles gently almost forgetting to give Y/n her jacket, which he received from the two officers whom the doctor from earlier had contacted. Erwin’s been keeping it under his arm this whole time; it surprised him that she didn’t notice that.

“Oh, and, you might wanna have this back.” He tosses her the jacket, satisfied with the surprised look on her face, and leaves her to her business.

Y/n decides to look into the hall where Erwin; she sees two men, aside from the commander; one brown-haired one, and a blond one. She assumes they’re both cadets of the scout regiment. They both seem shocked to see their commander in the same hall as them; their eyes are open wide, but she notices something else that’s a bit strange to her: the way they’re greeting him. Instead of, what Y/n’s normally used to, raising their palm to their head, they both have their right fist on their chests, and their left behind their backs. She tries to mimic this, though her bruised arm still hurts a little to move.

_Glad I found this out; imagine how embarrassing it would be if I tried to greet my superiors in another way…_

She cringes at the thought, not noticing an only slightly taller man walk towards the squad captain’s door.

“Oi, what’s wrong with you; shitting your pants?” He asks her flatly, raising a brow at her strange behavior. Y/n’s face flushes red out of embarrassment. Noticing the fact that he’s standing in front of the room across her, it only makes sense to her that he’s her captain.

_Way to fucking go, dumbass._

“Uh, well, no, sir.” She stutters, thankfully not forgetting to salute him. The captain eyes her quickly, huffs, and enters his room; or more so, his office, Y/n deduces after catching a glimpse of the interior. He shuts his door; she lets out a shaky breath.

_Why is he so scary? Ugh. I wonder if the commander already told him to spy on me?_

_I might not have been shitting my pants, but I still need to fucking pee._

Y/n frantically searches around the halls for a bathroom, and finally finds one at the opposite side of the corridor.

_Fucking bingo, baby!_

After doing what she needs to do, she goes back into the hall, calmly entering her room when she reaches it. She takes note of the interior: a bed, nightstand, wooden chair, small closet and a window with dark curtains.

_Not bad, to be honest._

She opens the closet, seeing several pairs of the same outfit. White pants, brown, knee high boots, some type of belt harness, a few shirts, and a light brown leather jacket.

_The members of the squad who saved me; they were wearing similar, or even the same, outfits as this one._

The memory of the horrific event flashes in front of her eyes; she grabs hold of the chair and tries to steady her breathing.

_‘No! No, it can’t end like this! This cannot be it! Please!’_

She stumbles to her bed, shakily pulling the covers over her while squeezing her eyes shut.

_Idiot! It’s over! It’s not happening right now!_

She mentally scolds herself for letting it affect her so much, though she continues to steady her breathing which, in turn, calms her down, enabling her to get some well-deserved sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: thank you so much for 101 hits!!! i never thought i'd have this many, i hope you're enjoying the story this far! 🥺


	5. Nightmares and Crackers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a backstory on how y/n got here in the first place.

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_I keep kicking and screaming, but the two men with masks on had an iron grip on my arms and legs, disabling all movement. Tears start flooding down my face as my breathing staggers. “C’mon, guys, you don’t have to do this! You said I could trust you!” I try to convince them to let me go, but to no avail: they keep dragging me down to some strange cylinder glass cage, with a metal bottom and top that was glowing a bright light blue. As they throw me in front of it, I notice the leading scientist at the button panel has his eyes shut, as if he doesn’t dare to look at me. I can’t make out his face, or anyone else’s, at that matter. “Dad… dad please! Tell them to let me go! Don’t take it away from me!”_

**_Dad?_ **

_The scientist shakes his head in defeat, but doesn’t say a thing._

_“Don’t let them do this to me! They’ll listen to you! Please, I don’t want to end up like mom!” My words seem to drown out, like I’m screaming under water._

**_What happened to my mom?_ **

_“Don’t take it away from me! I just want to help people, what’s so wrong with that?!”_

_The scientist’s head shoots up at this. “My dear… You want to stop the war… If I let you do that, our territory, our city will be taken away from us.”_

_“I couldn’t give a fuck less about that! How can you let innocent people **die** for some fucking land?! This shit could easily be solved by talking, understanding each other!” I plead, trying to talk some sense in his head._

_The man sighs and rubs his hands over his face; “This is hopeless. Put her in the extractor.” The two bodyguards push me in the cylinder cage and shut the door behind me. I fall on my hands and knees but quickly stand up and start slamming my fists onto the cage’s doors. “Dad!!! You fucking bastard! I’ll never forgive you for this, for what you did to mom! I hope you die a painful death, you asshole!” I hysterically scream at the top of my lungs._

_My so-called father pulls a lever at the left of the panel, and turns away. The machine starts whirring and the glowing, both underneath and above me, starts glowing more aggressively. It’s so bright that I need to close my eyes; but I refuse to accept this. I can’t let them take away my powers: I **will** put an end to this war, whether the bastards like it or not._

_I try to concentrate on somewhere peaceful; a field, perhaps. Yeah, there’s a field, some trees, and a city nearby. I can see it so clearly, it’s almost like I’m actually there. I realize something strange; it feels like I’m falling. I violently shake my head and widen my eyes, noticing I’m in the air._

**_Oh fuck, I’m actually falling!_ **

_I try, as fast as I can, to manipulate the wind by reaching out my hands to the ground, but it’s too late: I hit the ground with my left side, which knocks me out cold._

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Y/n shoots up, sweaty and heaving.

_What the fuck was that dream?!_

She wipes the sweat off her forehead, and takes a minute to compose herself.

_Was that real? Is that what happened? I… I can’t believe it. How could my own father treat me like that? I really hope it was just a nightmare, but it felt too real; it lines up with how I woke up, too. But how did I just show up here? This place feels like it’s in a completely different timeline; no, universe. Could I… Could I have teleported here? I know of my telekinesis, but I don’t have any other powers… or do I?_

After her breathing slows back down to normal again, she rises from her bed with shaky legs and glances at the clock: 11:51 PM, almost midnight.

_I should get changed into some clean clothes._

She wobbles towards the closet, picking out pants and a shirt, with her own jacket added to the outfit. She keeps her regular shoes on, though, she can’t imagine the boots being comfortable right now. While changing, she also decides to re-wrap her bandages. She notices her bruised arm is completely healed; puzzled, she leaves the bandages off.

Since she won’t be able to sleep again anytime soon, she decides to wander around the halls a bit; you know, explore and whatnot. She quietly shuffles out of her room and gentle shuts her door, looking at the labels on the other door. In her little adventure, she finds a kitchen, a room with shower stalls, which she reminds her to take a shower in the morning, and several other cadets’ rooms. After having looked around every side-corridor, Y/n goes back to the kitchen, deciding to make herself a cup of tea and maybe eat some crackers. She searches the cupboards for tea, but doesn’t find any, though she does find some crackers. Thankful for her find, she munches on them while looking out of the window, letting her mind wander to her dream from earlier. Distracted by the moonlight and her overthinking habit, she doesn’t notice the captain entering the kitchen.

“Cadet. Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?” He flatly questions her.

Y/n turns around quickly and does the salute.

_Holy shit, why does this guy always feel the need to sneak up on me like that?!_

“At ease.” Y/n stands regularly again, remembering to answer his question.

“I, uh- I already slept a bit, sir. I just woke up about half an hour ago.” She explains quietly. The captain huffs, not really bothering to answer. He opens one of the cupboards and takes out a bag of black tea, while he heats up some water.

_So, that’s where the tea was. Should’ve looked better._

While he prepares his cup of tea, Y/n continues to munch on her cracker, debating whether she should ask for his name or not.

“You’re the new cadet, aren’t you?” He suddenly asks, while leaning against the counter, waiting for his tea to steep in. She nods as she didn’t know what else to say. “Thought so,” he continues “well, I’m captain Levi, you’ll be following my orders. Your name?” He introduces himself confidently.

“I’m Y/n.” She, too, introduces herself rather awkwardly. Levi hums to acknowledge her answer. He already knew this, of course, as Erwin already told him to keep an eye on her; he also told him that that was the reason why he put Y/n in the room across of Levi’s. He studies her appearance: surprisingly shorter than him; this means she had the potential to be quite fast with ODM-gear, like him. She has brown, wavy, shoulder-length hair, and quite the timid stance. He doesn’t blame her though: he understands that this is all very new to her, considering she’s suffering from quite severe memory loss.

“Well, Y/n,” he takes a sip of his tea, satisfied with the result, then puts the cup back down on the counter behind him. “I expect you to work hard, and follow orders strictly. Your reason for joining the military doesn’t matter to me; what matters is that you do your utter best, push yourself to your limit so you can be of best use to the scouts.” He sternly explains, not breaking the eye contact between them. In a way, this intimidated Y/n, which didn’t happen too often. She nods, not daring to make any comments, which would ruin her chance of getting along with him; she wanted to be on his good side, it was something that could come in handy later.

Levi lifts his cup from the counter and starts to leave the kitchen, but not before reminding her that training starts at six in the morning. After that, the stoic captain disappears back into his office.

By now, Y/n’s finished eating and decides that, maybe, it’s time to go back into her room as well. She does so, and plops down on her bed, letting out a long sigh. She then closes her eyes, trying to sleep again; she hopes for a good rest without any bad dreams, this time.

_It’s going to be okay. I’ll just have to do my best._

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: thank you for the 100+ reads and the kudos! *kith*


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